Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-11-04

sui awe, ont, mangleu from the
timbers and charred by fire, was
beyond the hope of recovery. Her
sister Nellie, girl of fifteen years,
moaned piteously Tor her sister,
For the half hour that these two
had been imprisoned their efforts
had been to draw near to each
other when they say escape was
impossible. Neither can survive.
The rest Of the Newman family
were dead. Some sat upright, and
others were doubled i'm their beds.
Life had evidently fled while they
were wrapped in slumber.
In the same building, lived
Charles Devere, a travelling sales.
man. and his wife. Visiting them
was Miss Hattie Brown. of COlum.
bus, Ky. She vas badly injured,
but miraculously escaped death
She is the only person who passed
through the horrible ordeal and
lives to tell the story of escape.
A GIRLS FIGHT FOR LIFE.
She was firmly pinned by a beam
across her thigh and an iron rod
over one ankle. She could not tell
what means she employed to get
out, but AZ she twisted and strug.
gled in vain. the fire was blown
towards her until her long black
tresSes were scOrchad, and the OdOr
OF burning meat penetrated her
lungs and almost suiOcated the
brave girl. Relief appeared hope.
less, and Just as she sank back in
despair, the RUNS settled down and
the ovcrhanging timbers were
raised from the limbs, which were
filtered in the deadly embrace
No time was to be lost, as the fire
pressed close around her. With an
extraordinary effort Miss Brown
sprang TO her feet, and, staggering,
falling and rolling, she made
her way blindly through tho ruins.
Again and again she fell, and, as
she says, her strength was com.
pletely exhausted, and she Stun.
bled forward, falling headlong into
an open space, where she lay I'm.
conscious for few minutes. She
was restored by a cool breeze that
brought the blood TO her brain, and
she again rose to her feet only to
find herself in the comparative
safety of small rear yard. Thence
she ran TO a neighbours house, and,
through a balcony, sank
down in a sWOOI. \ neighbOr
found her there, and carried her
into the street. where she was given
a skirt aud some clothing. She
paid no attention to the kind offers |
Of friendly hands, but went down |
to the scene OF the explosion and |
there in agony, eagerly |
scanning charred and bruised faces |
rs the fremen carried the victims |
from the huge nelp OF splintered I
PROTECTED BY HER HAIR.
Over stOre-rOOm No. II resided
Mrs. Bryant, with her daughter,
Miss Patty. With them were two
Doarders, Charles Filtered and
Mrs Beasley. The last.nawed was
buried so deeply in the debris that
he search for her was given up
until others were removed. Charles
lillerd was taken out alive, but
lied on the way to the hospital
Mss BRYANT was bruised, but a
leavy head Of hair protected her,
md her injuries are not dangerous.
IN unknown man of forty years
vas found in the debris and re-
moved to the mOrgue.
There are many theories to eX-
lain the cause of the explosion,
nut none are satisfactory. The
lob which press around the scene
talk Of Anarchists and
heir dynamite, but men of sense
iscOuntenance this idle prattle.-
he general belief is that escaping ,
as filled the cellar, and that Mr..
iewman kept quantity Of kerO. ,
enc oil and gasoline in the cellar :
ear where the explosion evidently \
)ok place the rapid fire and the :
ines while it burned indicate this. q
his vessel and the OIL, it there =
as any, have been destroy ed, and =
ne only man who knows, is dead. =.
he escaping gas theory is sup. .
orted, however, by the store boy, =
oe Bienvenue, who says that he .
oticed during the afternoon yester.
nv strong smell of gas, and be.
re shutting up the stora for the
Ight, at 1880 o'clock, he went -
trough the building looking for "
le open burner. lie did not visit p
Ie cellar. The tremendous force it
the explosion Is the cause OF &
'eatest doubt to this explanation. n
great crowd fingers about the Il
ace, but the work of rescue is lc
yer. D
The financial loss caused by the al
,nlOsiOn will amount to about al
10000, divided in small amounts a
nong the property-owners in the "
,ighborhoo1. The principal loss d
lis on William Renshaw, who al
yns the demolished building. He Sc
Gently purchased the building 81
r $4,000. Il
in November, 1854, the grand q
rs of Fairfax indicted Daniel
'ench, of that county, for "tend.